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Stamp price to increase in January

By Carolyn LeeThe Imperial Republican It will cost another penny to mail a letter next year. The U.S. Postal Service announced last week that it will raise postage rates on Jan. 27, including a one-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail to 46 cents. Imperial Postmaster Jerry Lines said there will also be a “slight increase on priority mail,” but he doesn’t have much information on that yet. New stamps won’t have to be printed for first class mail, as they are all “forever” now, and don’t show a price. The Postal Service will also introduce a new global “forever” stamp, allowing customers to mail first-class letters anywhere in the world for one set price of $1.10. Currently the prices vary depending on the international destination, with letters to Canada and Mexico costing 85 cents. The price of a first-class stamp rose to 45 cents Jan. 22, 2012. As of May 11, 2009, it was set at 44 cents. Under the law, the post office cannot raise stamp prices more than the rate of inflation, or 2.6 percent, unless it gets special permission.